Terrain analysis for automatic route determination

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media are provided for determining routes within a location. Location information for a location may be obtained. The location information may include terrain information for the location. A set of restricted regions within the location may be determined based on the location information. A set of paths within the location may be determined based on the set of restricted regions. An interface through which information describing the set of paths within the location is accessible may be provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/869,505, filed May 7, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/544,429, filed Aug. 19, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No.10,697,788, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/008,937, filed Jun. 14, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,429,197 whichclaims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/677,417, filed May 29, 2018, the contents of each ofwhich are incorporated by reference in their entirety into the presentdisclosure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to approaches for automatically determiningroutes based on terrain analysis.

BACKGROUND

Under conventional approaches, information relating to terrain of alocation may be presented to a user to determine potential paths withinthe location. Such path determination may be imprecise and may notaccount for all possible paths within the location.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may include systems,methods, and non-transitory computer readable media configured todetermine routes within a location. Various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media configured to obtain location information for a location.The location information may include terrain information and/or otherinformation for the location. One or more sets of restricted regionswithin the location may be determined based on the location informationand/or other information. One or more sets of paths within the locationmay be determined based on the set(s) of restricted regions and/or otherinformation. An interface through which information describing theset(s) of paths within the location is accessible may be provided.

In some embodiments, the terrain information may define elevations ofone or more terrains within the location and the set(s) of restrictedregions within the location may be determined based on changes in theelevations of the terrain(s) within the location.

In some embodiments, a boundary of a restricted region within the set(s)of restricted regions may trace a line of a given slope within theterrain(s). The given slope may be defined by a single value or a rangeof values meeting a threshold. The given slope may be determined basedon a type of an entity that is expected to traverse one or more paths ofthe set(s) of paths.

In some embodiments, the location information may further includerestriction information for the location. The restriction informationmay define one or more restricted regions within the location.

In some embodiments, the set(s) of paths may be determined based on astraight skeleton analysis of the set(s) of restricted regions withinthe location.

In some embodiments, the set(s) of paths may be determined based ondistances between one or more boundaries of the set(s) of restrictedregions meeting a distance threshold. The distance threshold may bedetermined based on a type of an entity that is expected to traverse oneor more paths of the set(s) of paths.

These and other features of the systems, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media disclosed herein, as well as the methods ofoperation and functions of the related elements of structure and thecombination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become moreapparent upon consideration of the following description and theappended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all ofwhich form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes ofillustration and description only and are not intended as a definitionof the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain features of various embodiments of the present technology areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. A betterunderstanding of the features and advantages of the technology will beobtained by reference to the following detailed description that setsforth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the inventionare utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment for determining routes withina location, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example view of restricted regions within alocation, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example view of paths within a location, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example view of a path within a location, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer system inwhich any of the embodiments described herein may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A claimed solution rooted in computer technology overcomes problemsspecifically arising in the realm of computer technology. Locationinformation for a location may be obtained. The location information mayinclude terrain information for the location. A set of restrictedregions within the location may be determined based on the locationinformation. For example, the terrain information may define elevationsof a terrain within the location and the set of restricted regionswithin the location may be determined based on changes in the elevations(e.g., slopes) of the terrain within the location. A boundary of arestricted region within the set of restricted regions may trace a lineof a given slope within the terrain. The given slope may be defined by asingle value (e.g., a particular slope) or a range of values meeting oneor more thresholds (e.g., slopes steeper than a threshold slope). Thegiven slope may be determined based on a type of an entity (e.g.,person, animal, team, vehicle) that is expected to traverse one or morepaths of the set of paths. In some instances, the location informationmay also include restriction information for the location. Therestriction information may define one or more restricted regions withinthe location such as a user-defined restricted region and the set ofrestricted regions may include the restricted region(s) defined by therestriction information.

A set of paths within the location may be determined based on the set ofrestricted regions. For example, the set of paths may be determinedbased on a straight skeleton analysis of the set of restricted regionswithin the location. The straight skeleton analysis may determine atopological skeleton of the location, and the set of paths may followone or more portions of the topological skeleton of the location. Asanother example, the set of paths may be determined based on distancesbetween one or more boundaries of the set of restricted regions meetinga distance threshold. The distance threshold may be determined based ona type (or size) of an entity that is expected to traverse one or morepaths of the set of paths.

An interface for accessing information describing the set of pathswithin the location may be provided. The interface may enable a user toview and/or select one or more paths within the set of paths. Theinterface may provide visualization of costs (e.g., temporal costs,non-temporal costs) for an entity to traverse one or more paths withinthe set of paths. The paths visualized within the interface may befiltered using heuristics to provide a cleaner and more usefulvisualization of the paths. The interface may provide visualization ofthe set of paths in view of the set of restricted regions within thelocation. For example, the set of paths and the set of restrictedregions may be visualized using one or more buffers. Buffers may beassociated with a type of an entity that is expected to traverse one ormore paths of the set of paths. These buffers may be definedautomatically or manually. The interface may provide visualization ofthe terrains within the location, such as visualization of differentslopes of the terrains within the location. Further, the interface mayenable a user to set one or more points along a route, such as astarting point, an ending point, and/or one or more intermediate points(e.g., waypoints). The interface may provide visualization of routesthat may be taken within the location, such as a shortest route betweendifferent points within the location and/or a visual representation ofhow far an entity may travel based on different durations of traveltime.

The approaches disclosed herein enable determination of potential routeswithin a location by taking into account different elevations within thelocation. The route determination may include automatic analysis ofterrains within the location, such as analysis of different slopeswithin the location. The slopes within the location may be used todetermine the paths that may be traversed by an entity within thelocation.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 for determining routeswithin a location, in accordance with various embodiments. The exampleenvironment 100 may include a computing system 102. The computing system102 may include one or more processors and memory. The processor(s) maybe configured to perform various operations by interpretingmachine-readable instructions stored in the memory. The environment 100may also include one or more datastores that are accessible to thecomputing system 102 (e.g., via one or more network(s)). In someembodiments, the datastore(s) may include various databases, applicationfunctionalities, application/data packages, and/or other data that areavailable for download, installation, and/or execution.

In various embodiments, the computing system 102 may include a locationengine 112, a restricted regions engine 114, a paths engine 116, aninterface engine 118, and/or other engines. While the computing system102 is shown in FIG. 1 as a single entity, this is merely for ease ofreference and is not meant to be limiting. One or morecomponents/functionalities of the computing system 102 described hereinmay be implemented, in whole or in part, within a single computingdevice or within multiple computing devices.

In various embodiments, the location engine 112 is configured to obtainlocation information for a location. Obtaining location information mayinclude accessing, acquiring, analyzing, determining, examining,identifying, loading, locating, opening, receiving, retrieving,reviewing, storing, and/or otherwise obtaining the location information.Location information may be obtained from one or more storage locations.A storage location may refer to electronic storage located within thecomputing system 102 (e.g., integral and/or removable memory of thecomputing system 102), electronic storage coupled to the computingsystem 102, and/or electronic storage located remotely from thecomputing system 102 (e.g., electronic storage accessible to thecomputing system 102 through a network). Location information may beobtained from one or more databases. Location information may be storedwithin a single file or across multiple files. For example, locationinformation for a location have been ingested into a database as one ormore objects, and the location engine 112 may retrieve the object(s) toobtain the location information.

In some embodiments, the location engine 112 may obtain locationinformation for a location based on a user's interaction with a userinterface. The user interface may enable a user to enter and/or selectone or more locations for which location information is to be obtained.For example, the user interface may enable a user to enter a name,identifier, geographic coordinates and/or other information thatidentifies and/or is associated with a location, and the location engine112 may obtain location information for the location based on theinformation entered by the user. As another example, the user interfacemay display a view (e.g., satellite map, street map, topographical map,climate map, etc.) of a geographic area. The user interface may enable auser to select one or more locations, such as by clicking/tagging alocation and/or drawings a shape that defines the location, and thelocation engine 112 may obtain location information for the selectedlocation.

A location may refer to a geographic area within which one or more ofthe entities may move (or travel) and/or may be expected to move. Anentity may refer to one or more living and/or non-living things withdistinct existence. For example, an entity may refer to one or morepersons, one or more animals, one or more teams, one or more vehicles,one or more organizations, and/or other single things or groups ofthings. An entity may be associated with one or more modes of travels. Amode of travel may refer to a way or a manner by which an entity maymove. For example, an entity comprised of a team of persons may beassociated with one or more of the following modes of travel: landmovement, air movement, water movement, movement on foot, and movementon vehicle.

Location information may refer to information that describes a location.Location information may describe physical and/or non-physical aspectsof the location. For example, location information may include terraininformation for a location. A terrain may refer to a defined regionwithin a location. A terrain may be defined based on its physicalfeatures, such as natural features of the terrain and/or individuals,structures, and/or vehicles on/above/below the terrain. Terraininformation for a location may characterize one or more terrains withinthe location, such as by defining types of terrains within the locationand/or geographic/physical features of terrains within the location. Forexample, terrain information may define elevations of one or moreterrains within the location. Terrain information defining elevations ofa terrain may include the terrain information including values thatspecify elevations of a terrain at different coordinate locations and/orvalues that specify changes in elevation (slope, steepness) of a terrainat different coordinate locations. As another example, terraininformation may define types of the terrain, such as whether the surfaceof a terrain is dry/wet/frozen, what material(s) make up the terrain,and/or what material(s) cover the terrain (e.g., sand, rocks, water,snow). As yet another example, terrain information may define how easyand/or difficult it may be for an entity to traverse across the terrain,such as whether the terrain is slippery/not slippery, whether solidfooting may be found on the terrain, and/or whether one or more traveltools (e.g., pitons for climbing, chains on vehicle wheels) may be usedto facilitate movement across in the terrain. As further example,terrain information may define one or more environmental conditions ofone or more terrains within the location. Environmental conditions mayrefer to conditions relating to the natural world and/or their impact onone or more entities. For example, an environmental condition of alocation may include one or more of a weather condition, a windcondition, a temperature condition, and/or other natural worldconditions. Other types of terrain information are contemplated.

In some embodiments, location information may include restrictioninformation for a location. The restriction information may define oneor more restricted regions within the location. For example, therestriction information may define where restricted region(s) arelocated within the location, may define shape and/or size of restrictedregion(s) within the location, and/or other information relating torestricted region(s) within the location. For instance, the restrictioninformation may define one or more user-defined restrict regions withinthe location. A user-defined restricted region may refer to a region,defined by a user (e.g., by drawing a polygon in a map representation ofthe location), into and/or across which an entity may not/should notmove. Other types of location information are contemplated.

In various embodiments, the restricted regions engine 114 is configuredto determine one or more sets of restricted regions within the locationbased on the location information and/or other information. A set ofrestricted regions may include one or more restricted regions. Arestricted region may refer to a region into and/or across which anentity may not/should not move. A restricted region may be defined inone dimension (e.g., a line that should not be crossed by an entity),defined in two dimensions (e.g., width and length of an area that anentity cannot/should not enter), defined in three dimensions (e.g.,width, length, and height of an area that an entity cannot/should notenter), defined in four dimensions (e.g., width, length, and/or highestof an area that an entity cannot/should not enter at certain times),and/or other dimensions. The restricted regions engine 114 may determinethe restricted region(s) within the location based on information thatdescribes the location.

For example, location information for a location may include terraininformation that defines elevations of one or more terrains within thelocation, and the restricted regions engine 114 may determine therestricted region(s) based on changes in the elevations of theterrain(s) within the location. For instance, the location informationmay provide a digital elevation model of the location and the restrictedregions engine 114 may determine which regions may not/should not betraversed by one or more entities based on the slope of the terrain(s)within the location. For example, a slope of 25% (rise over run of oneto four) may be considered too steep for an entity to traverse and therestricted regions engine 114 may determine restricted region(s) basedon which portions of the location includes a slope of 25% (and/orhigher).

In some embodiments, a boundary of a restricted region within the set(s)of restricted regions may trace a line of a given slope within theterrain(s). The given slope may be defined by a single value (e.g., aparticular slope) or a range of values meeting one or more thresholds(e.g., slopes steeper than a threshold slope). For example, based on theslope of 25% being considered too steep for traversal, the restrictedregions engine 114 may determine restricted region(s) by outputtingpolygons that trace lines of 25% slope (and/or slope greater than 25%).In some embodiments, the given slope for restriction regiondetermination may be determined based on a type of an entity that isexpected to traverse one or more paths within the location. A type of anentity may refer to a category into which the entity falls. A type of anentity may include categories that depend on the nature of the entity(e.g., person, animal, vehicle), categories that depend on the physicalsize of the entity (e.g., motorcycle, sedan, truck), and categories thatdepend on the numerical size of the entity (e.g., individual, team of acertain number of persons, a group of teams). For example, the value ofthe slope used to determine the restricted regions may be smaller for aperson than it may be for an off-road vehicle.

In some embodiments, other location information may be used to determineone or more sets of restricted regions within the location and/or tosupplement the determination of restricted regions based on slopes. Forexample, the location information may include restriction informationthat defines one or more restricted regions (e.g., user-definedrestricted regions) within the location and the set of restrictedregions determined by the restricted regions engine 114 may include therestricted region(s) defined by the restriction information. Suchdetermination of restricted regions may provide for addition of customrestricted regions in the location. Such restricted regions may notinclude a slope that prevents an entity's traversal within the regionbut may include regions that the entity may/should avoid (e.g., swamps,dangerous areas). As another example, the terrain information may defineother aspects of the location (e.g., terrain type, ease/difficulty oftraversal, environmental condition) that may be used to supplement thedetermination of restricted regions based on slopes. For instance, thegiven slope by which the restricted regions may be changed based on thesurface type of the terrain (e.g., higher slope for dry terrain, lowerslope for terrain with high winds). Various combinations of locationinformation for restricted region determination are contemplated.

In various embodiments, the paths engine 116 is configured to determineone or more sets of paths within the location based on the set(s) ofrestricted regions and/or other information. That is, based on theset(s) of restricted regions determined by the restricted regions engine114, the paths engine 116 may determine pathways for one or moreentities to traverse. A set of paths may include one or more paths. Apath may refer to a way or a route by which an entity may move (ortravel) within the location. A path may include one or more straightportions and/or one or more non-straight portions. The paths engine 116may determine the path(s) so that a path does not collide with arestricted region. For example, a path may be determined by the pathsengine 116 so that the path does not touch, run into, and/or run acrossany of the restricted region(s) within the location.

In some embodiments, the paths engine 116 may determine the set(s) ofpaths based on a straight skeleton analysis of the set(s) of restrictedregions within the location. A straight skeleton analysis may determinea topological skeleton of the location, and the set of paths may followone or more portions of the topological skeleton of the location. Atopological skeleton of a shape may refer to a shape/line(s)/segment(s)that is equidistant to the boundaries of the shape. For example, for alocation, the boundaries of the restricted regions may be treated aspolygon that are substracted from a shape of the location. That is, therestricted regions may be treated as holes within the shape of thelocation. The topological skeleton of the location may then bedetermined as those portions within the shape of the location which areequidistant from the edges of the holes.

In some embodiments, the paths engine 116 may determine the set(s) ofpaths based on distances between one or more boundaries of the set(s) ofrestricted regions meeting a distance threshold. For example, a boundaryof a restricted region or multiple boundaries of multiple restrictedregions may outline the shape of an area that may potentially betraversed by an entity. The paths engine 116 may determine whether apath for an entity will go through such an area based on whether thearea can accommodate the entity (e.g., the area is wide enough for theentity). For example, boundaries of two restricted regions may outlinean hour-glass shaped area that may potentially be traversed by anentity. Whether a path going from one end of the hour-glass shaped area,through the narrow area, to the other end of the hour-glass shaped areamay depend on whether the narrow area is wide enough to accommodate theentity. The paths engine 116 may determine whether such a path will bedetermined by comparing the distance between the shape of the area(e.g., width of the area) with a distance threshold for an entity. Adistance threshold may refer to a distance value or a range of distancevalues that must be met by an area for a path to be determined (e.g.,drawn) through the area. That is, a distance threshold may define one ormore sizes (e.g., widths) of a non-restricted area that are needed foran entity to travel over the area. The distance threshold may bedetermined based on a type of an entity that is expected to traverse oneor more paths within the location. For instance, the distance thresholdfor an individual person may be smaller than the distance threshold fora group of persons. As another example, the distance threshold for ateam of people traveling on a truck may be different than the distancethreshold for a team of people traveling on motorcycles. Other distancethreshold determinations based on entity types are contemplated.

In some embodiments, the paths engine 116 may determine the set(s) ofpaths by taking into account changes in the entity. For example, amovement of an entity within a location may include one or more changesin physical size, number size, and/or travel mode of the entity, such asan entity of a team of people splitting up into smaller groups and/or anentity changing the mode of travel from riding a car to hiking on foot.The paths engine 116 may determine one or more paths and/or one or moreportions of paths to account for such changes in the entity. In someembodiments, the paths engine 116 may determine one or more paths basedon potential changes in the entity. For example, based on the type ofthe entity and the location of restricted regions within the location,the paths engine 116 may determine a limited number of paths for theentity. The paths engine 116 may also determine additional paths thatmay be used if the entity changes before and/or during the traversalwithin the location (such as changing the physical size, number size,and/or travel mode of the entity).

In various embodiments, the interface engine 118 is configured toprovide one or more interfaces through information describing the set(s)of paths within the location is accessible. The interface(s) may includeapplication program interface(s) (APIs) and/or user interface(s). Forexample, the interface engine 118 may provide (e.g., make available foruse, supply) one or more APIs that may be used by users/computingsystems to access information describing the set(s) of paths within thelocation. As another example, the interface engine 118 may provide(e.g., generate, present) one or more user interfaces (e.g., web userinterface accessible through a browser) through which users may view theinformation describing the set(s) of paths within the location.

An interface provided by the interface engine 118 may enable a user toview and/or select one or more paths within the set of paths. Forexample, the interface may provide a map view of the location with thepath(s) determined by the paths engine 116 shown within the map view.Such a view may provide visualization of the set(s) of paths in view ofthe set(s) of restricted regions within the location. The visualizationof the path(s) within the location may provide an automated routeanalysis within the location. That is, the visualization of the path(s)within the location may indicate where an entity may travel within thelocation based on distances between one or more boundaries of restrictedregions within the location and/or based on a distance threshold of theentity. The selection of a particular path may prompt the interfaceengine 118 to retrieve and/or provide information relating to theselected path. For example, the selection of a path may returninformation relating to traversal of the path by an entity, such as thetime expected to take to traverse the path. As another example, thevisualization of a path and/or provision of information responsive toselection of a path may include provision of information relating topast traversal of the path by an entity, such as where on the path theentity was located at different times. In some embodiments, historicaldata relating to traversal of paths by one or more entities may be usedto simulate how the same or different entities may traverse a given pathwithin a location.

In some embodiments, the paths visualized within the interface may befiltered using heuristics to provide a cleaner and more usefulvisualization of the paths. Providing visualization of all pathsdetermined by the paths engine 116 may create a cluttered view of thelocation. That is, there may be too many paths within the location andpresentation of all paths may make it difficult to see and/or understandthe paths available to be taken by an entity. For example, paths thathas a degree of one (touches an exterior vertex) may be removed fromview. Such removal of paths may preserve corridor paths within thelocation that circle the holes (restricted regions) within the shape ofthe location and connect the paths that circle the holes. As anotherexample, paths within a funnel-shaped area of the location (the shapedefined by the boundaries of the restricted region(s)) may be filteredso that edge paths are removed. As further example, paths within anhour-glass shaped area of the location may be filtered to keep a paththat runs from one end of the hour-glass to the other end of thehour-glass. Such a path may provide visualization of how an entity maytraverse through a pinched area within the location.

In some embodiments, the visualization of a set of paths and a set ofrestricted regions may be provided using one or more buffers. A buffermay refer to a distance and/or an area around a path or a restrictedregion. For example, a buffer of ten meters may be applied to a path tocreate a corridor of twenty meters. As another example, a buffer of fivemeters may be applied to the boundaries of restricted regions. An entitythat requires ten meters of lateral space to traverse an area may beable to traverse between restricted regions if the buffers of therestricted regions do not overlap each other. Buffers may be used forproximity analysis and to identify paths that come close to boundariesof restricted regions. Buffers may be associated with a type of anentity that is expected to traverse one or more paths of the set ofpaths. That is, different amounts of buffer may be used for differenttypes of entities that are expected to traverse paths within a location.Buffers for the paths and/or the restricted regions may be definedautomatically and/or manually. For example, buffers for the restrictedregions within a location may be set by a user and/or may be set basedon the type of the restricted region (e.g., buffer for a user-definedrestricted region being greater than a restricted region defined basedon slope, buffer for rocky mountain being greater than a buffer forgrassy region to account for potential falling rocks). The visualizationof the paths and restricted regions based on buffers may use colors toindicate proximity of the paths to the restricted regions. For example,buffers around the path may be visualized in green and the restrictedregions may be visualized in yellow. If the boundaries of restrictedregions are within the buffer of a path, such portion(s) of the path maybe visualized as a green corridor with yellow protrusions. Users may beable to easily identify choke points along the path(s) by looking foryellow protrusions into the green corridor.

An interface provided by the interface engine 118 may providevisualization of the terrains within the location, such a visualizationof different slopes of the terrains within the location. The view of thelocation may include a heatmap that uses different colors to indicatethe amount of slope within the location. For example, blue color may beused to indicate no slope and red color may be used to indicate steepslope, with colors in between indicating varying degrees of slope.Colors of the heatmap may be used to identify level routes within thelocation. For example, a hiking path that has been cut into a steepmountainous area may be shown as a bluish line that cuts through reddisharea. Such a visualization of different slopes of the terrains withinthe location may be used to identify paths that may be traversed withinthe location.

An interface provided by the interface engine 118 may enable a user toset one or more points along a route, such as a starting point, anending point, and/or one or more intermediate points (e.g., waypoints).For example, a user may wish to identify paths that may be taken by anentity within the location where the entity is to move from the startingpoint to reach the ending point. The user may also wish to have theentity go through one or more waypoints while traveling from thestarting point to the ending point. Based on the user's selection ofpoint(s) along the route, the interface engine 118 may providevisualization of paths that include those selected points. The interfaceengine 118 may provide visualization of paths that include the startingpoint, the ending point, and/or one or more intermediate points. Theinterface may provide the shortest path that includes the startingpoint, the ending point, and/or one or more intermediate points. Theshortest path may refer to a path that includes the shortest distancefor traveling between the points and/or a path that is expected to takethe least amount of time to travel between the points. The interface mayenable the user to change one or more parameters relating to the entitythat affects the shortest path determination. For example, the interfacemay include option(s) that the user may use to select the entity typeand/or the mode of travel available to the entity.

The interface provided by the interface engine 118 may also enable auser to change one or more parameters relating to paths and/orrestricted regions. For example, the interface may enable a user to setand/or modify values of distance thresholds for entities. The interfacemay enable a user to set and/or modify values that define impassibleterrain, such as the slope used to determine restricted regions. Theinterface may enable the user to change other parameters that affectrestricted region and/or path determination, such as what type oflocation information may be used to determine the restricted regions.

An interface provided by the interface engine 118 may provide a visualrepresentation of how far an entity may travel within the location basedon different durations of travel time. For example, different portionsof the location may be visualized differently (e.g., shaded differently,patterned differently) to indicate the amount of time expected to takefor an entity to reach the different portions. For example, a view ofthe location may be shaded differently to indicate areas of the locationthat an entity may reach within thirty minutes, areas of the locationthat the entity may reach within sixty minutes, and so forth. Otherdivisions of the location based on time durations are contemplated. Theexpected time duration calculation make take into account the paths thatmay be traversed by an entity (e.g., whether an entity may take astraight path or may need to take a path around a restricted area), theslope and/or height of the path that may be traversed by the entity(e.g., more time required to travel uphill, less time required to traveldownhill), and/or other terrain characteristics of the paths.

An interface provided by the interface engine 118 may providevisualization of costs (e.g., temporal costs, non-temporal costs) for anentity to traverse one or more paths within the set of paths. A temporalcost may reflect a time duration expected to be needed for an entity totraverse a path. A temporal cost may be determined based on a temporalroute graph (edge/node weighting). A temporal cost may reflect acombination of expected time durations needed to travel between points(weights of edges between nodes) and/or expected time durations to bespent at one or more particular points (e.g., weights of nodes). Anon-temporal cost may reflect a measure of a characteristic of anenvironment through which the path travels. A non-temporal cost may bedetermined based on a two-dimensional non-temporal cost map (e.g., pixelcost). The two-dimensional non-temporal cost map may provide thenon-temporal cost of moving over a point along the path based oncorresponding colors/intensities of pixels associated with the point inthe two-dimensional non-temporal cost map. For example, the interfacemay provide the time cost of an entity to traverse one or more pathsand/or a non-time cost (e.g., cost based on user preference to traverseon different types of path, cost based on difficulty/risk of traversinga particular path) of an entity to traverse one or more paths.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example view 200 of restricted regions within alocation, in accordance with various embodiments. The view 200 may bepresented via one or more interfaces, such as APIs and/or a userinterface provided by the interface engine 118. The view 200 of thelocation may include one or more restricted regions, such as restrictedregions 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220. The restrictedregions 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 may refer toregions into and/or across which an entity may not/should not move (ortravel). The shape and/or boundaries of the restricted regions 202, 204,206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 may be determined based oninformation that describes the location, such as terrain informationthat defines elevations of one or more terrains within the locationand/or restriction information defines one or more restricted regions(e.g., user-defined restricted regions) within the location. Forexample, the restricted regions 202, 204, 206, 210, 212, 214, 218, 220may be determined based on the boundaries of the restricted regions 202,204, 206, 210, 212, 214, 218, 220 being too steep for traversal by anentity while the restricted regions 208, 216 may be custom (or userdefined) restricted regions based on user input. A user may use thevisualization of the restricted regions to determine potential pathswithin the location. However, such path determination may be impreciseand may not account for all possible paths within the location.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example view 300 of paths within a location, inaccordance with various embodiments. The view 300 may be presented viaone or more interfaces, such as APIs and/or a user interface provided bythe interface engine 118. The view 300 of the location may include oneor more restricted regions, such as restricted regions 302, 304, 306,308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320. The shape and/or boundaries of therestricted regions 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320 maybe determined based on information that describes the location. The view300 may also include paths 350 that are available for traversal by oneor more entities. The paths 350 may be determined based on therestricted regions 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320within the location, such as based on a straight skeleton analysis ofthe restricted regions 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320within the location and/or based on distances between the boundaries ofthe restricted regions 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320meeting a distance threshold. The view 300 may provide visualization ofthe paths 350 in view of the restricted regions 302, 304, 306, 308, 310,312, 314, 316, 318, 320 within the location. Such view 300 may providevisual information on where an entity may travel within the locationand/or provide information on how much the entity may deviate from thepath (e.g., based on one or more buffers). For example, the path 350 maybe presented using a buffer to provide a visualization of corridorswithin the location.

The paths 350 shown within the view 300 may change based on user input.For example, a user may insert a new restricted region, remove anexisting restricted region, and/or modify a restricted region within thelocation, and the paths 350 may be changed to reflect the new distancesbetween the boundaries of the restricted regions. As another example,the user may change one or more parameters relating to paths 350 and/orrestricted regions 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320. Forinstance, the user may set and/or modify values of distance thresholdsfor an entity, and the paths 350 may be changed to reflect the distancethreshold for the entity. The user may set and/or modify the value ofslope used to determine restriction regions, and the restricted regions302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320 and/or the paths 350may be changed to reflect the user-defined/modified slope.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example view 400 of a path within a location, inaccordance with various embodiments. The view 400 may be presented viaone or more interfaces, such as APIs and/or a user interface provided bythe interface engine 118. The view 400 of the location may include oneor more restricted regions, such as restricted regions 420, 422, 424,426, 428. The view 400 may also include a path 406 that is available fortraversal by one or more entities. The path 406 may be determined basedon the restricted regions 420, 422, 424, 426, 428 within the location,such as based on a straight skeleton analysis of the restricted regions420, 422, 424, 426, 428 within the location and/or based on distancesbetween the boundaries of the restricted regions 420, 422, 424, 426, 428meeting a distance threshold. The path 406 may include a shortest path(e.g., defined in terms of time expected to traverse the path, define interms of distance of the path) that includes a starting point 402 and anending point 404.

The view 400 may provide a visual representation of how far an entitymay travel within the location based on different durations of traveltime. For example, different portions of the location may be shadeddifferently to indicate the amount of time expected to take for anentity to reach the different portions. For example, a shade of aportion 410 may indicate areas of the location that an entity may reachwithin ten minutes, a shade of a portion 412 may indicate areas of thelocation that an entity may reach within twenty minutes, a shade of aportion 414 may indicate areas of the location that an entity may reachwithin thirty minutes, a shade of a portion 416 may indicate areas ofthe location that an entity may reach within forty minutes, and a shadeof a portion 418 may indicate areas of the location that an entity mayreach within fifty minutes. The expected time duration calculation forthe portions 410, 412, 414, 416, 418 may take into account the pathsthat may be traversed by an entity (e.g., whether an entity may take astraight path or may need to take a path around a restricted area), theslope and/or height of the path that may be traversed by the entity(e.g., more time required to travel uphill, less time required to traveldownhill), and/or other terrain characteristics of the paths.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may beimplemented in various environments including, for example, theenvironment 100 of FIG. 1. The operations of method 500 presented beloware intended to be illustrative. Depending on the implementation, theexample method 500 may include additional, fewer, or alternative stepsperformed in various orders or in parallel. The example method 500 maybe implemented in various computing systems or devices including one ormore processors.

At block 502, location information for a location may be obtained. Thelocation information may include terrain information for the location.At block 504, a set of restricted regions within the location may bedetermined based on the location information. At block 506, a set ofpaths within the location may be determined based on the set ofrestricted regions. At block 508, an interface may be provided.Information describing the set of paths within the location may beaccessible through the interface.

Hardware Implementation

The techniques described herein are implemented by one or morespecial-purpose computing devices. The special-purpose computing devicesmay be hard-wired to perform the techniques, or may include circuitry ordigital electronic devices such as one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)that are persistently programmed to perform the techniques, or mayinclude one or more hardware processors programmed to perform thetechniques pursuant to program instructions in firmware, memory, otherstorage, or a combination. Such special-purpose computing devices mayalso combine custom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with customprogramming to accomplish the techniques. The special-purpose computingdevices may be desktop computer systems, server computer systems,portable computer systems, handheld devices, networking devices or anyother device or combination of devices that incorporate hard-wiredand/or program logic to implement the techniques.

Computing device(s) are generally controlled and coordinated byoperating system software, such as iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows XP,Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Windows CE, Unix,Linux, SunOS, Solaris, iOS, Blackberry OS, VxWorks, or other compatibleoperating systems. In other embodiments, the computing device may becontrolled by a proprietary operating system. Conventional operatingsystems control and schedule computer processes for execution, performmemory management, provide file system, networking, I/O services, andprovide a user interface functionality, such as a graphical userinterface (“GUI”), among other things.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 600 uponwhich any of the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Thecomputer system 600 includes a bus 602 or other communication mechanismfor communicating information, one or more hardware processors 604coupled with bus 602 for processing information. Hardware processor(s)604 may be, for example, one or more general purpose microprocessors.

The computer system 600 also includes a main memory 606, such as arandom access memory (RAM), cache and/or other dynamic storage devices,coupled to bus 602 for storing information and instructions to beexecuted by processor 604. Main memory 606 also may be used for storingtemporary variables or other intermediate information during executionof instructions to be executed by processor 604. Such instructions, whenstored in storage media accessible to processor 604, render computersystem 600 into a special-purpose machine that is customized to performthe operations specified in the instructions.

The computer system 600 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 608 orother static storage device coupled to bus 602 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 604. A storage device 610,such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or USB thumb drive (Flash drive),etc., is provided and coupled to bus 602 for storing information andinstructions.

The computer system 600 may be coupled via bus 602 to a display 612,such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or LCD display (or touch screen), fordisplaying information to a computer user. An input device 614,including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 602 forcommunicating information and command selections to processor 604.Another type of user input device is cursor control 616, such as amouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating directioninformation and command selections to processor 604 and for controllingcursor movement on display 612. This input device typically has twodegrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis(e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Insome embodiments, the same direction information and command selectionsas cursor control may be implemented via receiving touches on a touchscreen without a cursor.

The computing system 600 may include a user interface module toimplement a GUI that may be stored in a mass storage device asexecutable software codes that are executed by the computing device(s).This and other modules may include, by way of example, components, suchas software components, object-oriented software components, classcomponents and task components, processes, functions, attributes,procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware,microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays,and variables.

In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodiedin hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions,possibly having entry and exit points, written in a programminglanguage, such as, for example, Java, C or C++. A software module may becompiled and linked into an executable program, installed in a dynamiclink library, or may be written in an interpreted programming languagesuch as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. It will be appreciatedthat software modules may be callable from other modules or fromthemselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events orinterrupts. Software modules configured for execution on computingdevices may be provided on a computer readable medium, such as a compactdisc, digital video disc, flash drive, magnetic disc, or any othertangible medium, or as a digital download (and may be originally storedin a compressed or installable format that requires installation,decompression or decryption prior to execution). Such software code maybe stored, partially or fully, on a memory device of the executingcomputing device, for execution by the computing device. Softwareinstructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will befurther appreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connectedlogic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised ofprogrammable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. Themodules or computing device functionality described herein arepreferably implemented as software modules, but may be represented inhardware or firmware. Generally, the modules described herein refer tological modules that may be combined with other modules or divided intosub-modules despite their physical organization or storage.

The computer system 600 may implement the techniques described hereinusing customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmwareand/or program logic which in combination with the computer systemcauses or programs computer system 600 to be a special-purpose machine.According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed bycomputer system 600 in response to processor(s) 604 executing one ormore sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 606.Such instructions may be read into main memory 606 from another storagemedium, such as storage device 610. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory 606 causes processor(s) 604 toperform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions.

The term “non-transitory media,” and similar terms, as used hereinrefers to any media that store data and/or instructions that cause amachine to operate in a specific fashion. Such non-transitory media maycomprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device610. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 606.Common forms of non-transitory media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, orany other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, aPROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip orcartridge, and networked versions of the same.

Non-transitory media is distinct from but may be used in conjunctionwith transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferringinformation between non-transitory media. For example, transmissionmedia includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, includingthe wires that comprise bus 602. Transmission media can also take theform of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated duringradio-wave and infra-red data communications.

Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequencesof one or more instructions to processor 604 for execution. For example,the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solidstate drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 600 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 602. Bus 602 carries the data tomain memory 606, from which processor 604 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 606 may retrievesand executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory606 may optionally be stored on storage device 610 either before orafter execution by processor 604.

The computer system 600 also includes a communication interface 618coupled to bus 602. Communication interface 618 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to one or more network links that are connectedto one or more local networks. For example, communication interface 618may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem,satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connectionto a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example,communication interface 618 may be a local area network (LAN) card toprovide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN (or WANcomponent to communicated with a WAN). Wireless links may also beimplemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 618sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals thatcarry digital data streams representing various types of information.

A network link typically provides data communication through one or morenetworks to other data devices. For example, a network link may providea connection through local network to a host computer or to dataequipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP inturn provides data communication services through the world wide packetdata communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet”.Local network and Internet both use electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through thevarious networks and the signals on network link and throughcommunication interface 618, which carry the digital data to and fromcomputer system 600, are example forms of transmission media.

The computer system 600 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link and communicationinterface 618. In the Internet example, a server might transmit arequested code for an application program through the Internet, the ISP,the local network and the communication interface 618.

The received code may be executed by processor 604 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 610, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution.

Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in thepreceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automatedby, code modules executed by one or more computer systems or computerprocessors comprising computer hardware. The processes and algorithmsmay be implemented partially or wholly in application-specificcircuitry.

The various features and processes described above may be usedindependently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. Allpossible combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall withinthe scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or processblocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processesdescribed herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, andthe blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in othersequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or statesmay be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, ormultiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state.The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, orin some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed fromthe disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and componentsdescribed herein may be configured differently than described. Forexample, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged comparedto the disclosed example embodiments.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure. The foregoing description details certainembodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that nomatter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the invention can bepracticed in many ways. As is also stated above, it should be noted thatthe use of particular terminology when describing certain features oraspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that theterminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including anyspecific characteristics of the features or aspects of the inventionwith which that terminology is associated. The scope of the inventionshould therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims andany equivalents thereof.

Engines, Components, and Logic

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, engines, or mechanisms. Engines may constitute eithersoftware engines (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium) orhardware engines. A “hardware engine” is a tangible unit capable ofperforming certain operations and may be configured or arranged in acertain physical manner. In various example embodiments, one or morecomputer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, a client computersystem, or a server computer system) or one or more hardware engines ofa computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) asa hardware engine that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In some embodiments, a hardware engine may be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware engine may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations. For example, ahardware engine may be a special-purpose processor, such as aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware engine may also includeprogrammable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured bysoftware to perform certain operations. For example, a hardware enginemay include software executed by a general-purpose processor or otherprogrammable processor. Once configured by such software, hardwareengines become specific machines (or specific components of a machine)uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and are no longergeneral-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that the decision toimplement a hardware engine mechanically, in dedicated and permanentlyconfigured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g.,configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the phrase “hardware engine” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. As used herein,“hardware-implemented engine” refers to a hardware engine. Consideringembodiments in which hardware engines are temporarily configured (e.g.,programmed), each of the hardware engines need not be configured orinstantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where a hardwareengine comprises a general-purpose processor configured by software tobecome a special-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware engines) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware engine at one instance oftime and to constitute a different hardware engine at a differentinstance of time.

Hardware engines can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware engines. Accordingly, the described hardwareengines may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiplehardware engines exist contemporaneously, communications may be achievedthrough signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses)between or among two or more of the hardware engines. In embodiments inwhich multiple hardware engines are configured or instantiated atdifferent times, communications between such hardware engines may beachieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of informationin memory structures to which the multiple hardware engines have access.For example, one hardware engine may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware engine may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware engines may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented enginesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions describedherein. As used herein, “processor-implemented engine” refers to ahardware engine implemented using one or more processors.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented engines. Moreover, the one or more processors mayalso operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)).

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployedacross a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the processorsor processor-implemented engines may be located in a single geographiclocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or aserver farm). In other example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented engines may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

Language

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Although an overview of the subject matter has been described withreference to specific example embodiments, various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. Such embodimentsof the subject matter may be referred to herein, individually orcollectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and withoutintending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to anysingle disclosure or concept if more than one is, in fact, disclosed.

The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed.Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

It will be appreciated that an “engine,” “system,” “data store,” and/or“database” may comprise software, hardware, firmware, and/or circuitry.In one example, one or more software programs comprising instructionscapable of being executable by a processor may perform one or more ofthe functions of the engines, data stores, databases, or systemsdescribed herein. In another example, circuitry may perform the same orsimilar functions. Alternative embodiments may comprise more, less, orfunctionally equivalent engines, systems, data stores, or databases, andstill be within the scope of present embodiments. For example, thefunctionality of the various systems, engines, data stores, and/ordatabases may be combined or divided differently.

The data stores described herein may be any suitable structure (e.g., anactive database, a relational database, a self-referential database, atable, a matrix, an array, a flat file, a documented-oriented storagesystem, a non-relational No-SQL system, and the like), and may becloud-based or otherwise.

As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive orexclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided forresources, operations, or structures described herein as a singleinstance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources,operations, engines, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary,and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specificillustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality areenvisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presentedas separate resources in the example configurations may be implementedas a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures andfunctionality presented as a single resource may be implemented asseparate resources. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of thepresent disclosure as represented by the appended claims. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose ofillustration based on what is currently considered to be the mostpractical and preferred implementations, it is to be understood thatsuch detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combinedwith one or more features of any other embodiment.

1. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe system to perform: obtaining location information for a location;determining a set of buffers within the location based at least in parton the location information, the set of buffers comprising a firstbuffer and a second buffer, the first buffer indicating a firstpermitted path and being adjacent to or within a portion of a firstrestricted region and the second buffer indicating a second permittedpath and being adjacent to or within a second portion of a secondrestricted region; determining a set of paths within the location basedon: a size of the first buffer; a second size of the second buffer; oran amount of overlap between the first buffer and the second buffer; andproviding an interface through which a map representation of the set ofpaths, the first restricted region, the second restricted region, thefirst buffer, and the second buffer within the location are accessibleand manipulatable based at least in part on user interactions with theinterface.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the providing of theinterface comprises displaying a visualization of a shortest routewithin the location.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the providing ofthe interface comprises displaying a distance of travel through the setof paths based on a duration of time.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe determining of the set of paths is further based on degrees offriction of an entity travelling through the set of paths.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the determining of the set of paths is further basedon degrees of slippage of an entity travelling through the set of paths.6. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining of the set of paths isfurther based on amounts of moisture on a terrain of the set of paths.7. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining of the set of paths isfurther based on a wind condition of the set of paths.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first restricted region, the second restrictedregion, the first buffer, and the second buffer are defined in fourdimensions, the four dimensions comprising a width, a length, a height,and a time.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining of the setof paths is further based on a slope through the set of paths.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first buffer and the second buffer aredetermined based on a type of entity traveling through the set of paths.11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first buffer and the secondbuffer are determined based on a terrain through the set of paths. 12.The system of claim 1, wherein the first buffer and the second bufferare determined based on a slope through the set of paths.
 13. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: obtaining location informationfor a location; determining a set of buffers within the location basedat least in part on the location information, the set of bufferscomprising a first buffer and a second buffer, the first bufferindicating a first permitted path and being adjacent to or within aportion of a first restricted region and the second buffer indicating asecond permitted path and being adjacent to or within a second portionof a second restricted region; determining a set of paths within thelocation based on: a size of the first buffer; a second size of thesecond buffer; or an amount of overlap between the first buffer and thesecond buffer; and providing an interface through which a maprepresentation of the set of paths, the first restricted region, thesecond restricted region, the first buffer, and the second buffer withinthe location are accessible and manipulatable based at least in part onuser interactions with the interface.
 14. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 13, wherein the determining of the set of paths isfurther based on degrees of friction of an entity travelling through theset of paths.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, whereinthe determining of the set of paths is further based on degrees ofslippage of an entity travelling through the set of paths.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the determining of theset of paths is further based on amounts of moisture on a terrain of theset of paths.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, whereinthe determining of the set of paths is further based on a wind conditionof the set of paths.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 13,wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are determined based on atype of entity traveling through the set of paths.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the first buffer andthe second buffer are determined based on a terrain through the set ofpaths.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein thefirst buffer and the second buffer are determined based on a slopethrough the set of paths.